Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Overseas Students

Lord Dobbs: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many foreign students were studying in UK universities in each of the last 10 years, and how many of those were from China.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on students enrolled at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEI). The overall number of foreign and Chinese students (undergraduate and postgraduate) at UK HEIs is set out in the following table:Higher Education Student Enrolments by Country of DomicileUK Higher Education InstitutionsAcademic Years 2004/05 to 2013/142004/052005/062006/072007/082008/092009/102010/112011/122012/132013/14Mainland China52,67550,75549,59545,35547,03556,99067,32578,71583,79087,895Hong Kong10,7809,4459,6409,7009,6009,94510,44011,33513,06514,725Macao145165205165205255265325345405People's Republic of China63,60060,36559,44055,22056,84067,19078,03090,37597,200103,025EU93,99599,985105,410112,150117,660125,045130,120132,550125,290125,300Non-EU203,125207,055220,575229,640251,310280,760298,110302,680299,970310,195International297,120307,040325,985341,790368,970405,805428,230435,230425,260435,495Source: HESA Student RecordNote: figures have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 5

Labour Party: Finance

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the estimated annual financial loss to the Labour Party following the implementation of clause 10 in the Trade Union Bill, which will reverse the current opt-out process.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: There has been no assessment. However, the proposals in the Bill are not about party funding. The Trade Union Bill is introducing a greater level of transparency into union activities by requiring union members to make an active decision to contribute to a union’s political fund.If union members want a political fund they are perfectly free to contribute to one, so, this will not necessarily lead to a reduction in the funds available.

Labour Party: Finance

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation was carried out on the provisions outlined in clause 10 of the Trade Union Bill.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Clause 10 of the Trade Union Bill takes forward the Government’s manifesto commitment to introduce a greater level of transparency into union activities by requiring union members to make an active decision to contribute to a union’s political fund.Therefore, there has been no further consultation on this.

Labour Party: Finance

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an impact assessment was conducted on the provisions contained in the Trade Union Bill that will change the current opt-out process to an opt-in process.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government intends to publish the impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill before Lords’ Committee Stage.

Trade Union Bill

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what date the full impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill will be published.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government intends to publish the impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill before Lords’ Committee stage.

Department for Education

Child Rearing

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of studies which conclude that there is a correlation between early direct maternal care and adult stability.

Lord Nash: Research, such as the Early Years Learning and Development Literature Review 2009, and the January 2013 WAVE Trust report on early years, suggests that children need secure attachments with adults in order to feel safe and happy. Good home care can provide this support, which is a real benefit to children as they learn and develop.The Department has extensively assessed the impact of formal early education compared to home care, through its longitudinal research programme Effective Pre-School, Primary & Secondary Education Project (EPPSE). EPPSE followed both groups of children through preschool and school ages, examining their cognitive and social behavioural development up to their AS and A Level exam results in 2015. The EPPSE results show that young children benefit from formal childcare, go on to have better GCSE results and, as a result, are more likely to enter A Level exams.In recognition of the crucial role that parents and carers play in children’s development, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requires childcare settings to form strong partnerships with parents. The EYFS also requires settings to allocate each child a key worker to help ensure that every child’s learning and care is tailored to meet their individual needs.

Child Rearing

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of studies which show that children benefit most from home care provided by close family members rather than from that available in children's day centres.

Lord Nash: Research suggests that children need secure attachments with adults in order to feel safe and happy[1]. Good home care can provide this support, which is a real benefit to children as they learn and develop.There is also a wide body of evidence, including evidence from abroad, which demonstrates that early education delivered by childcare providers can play an important role in children’s early development and later attainment. For instance, the Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education (EPPSE 3-16) Project showed that children who had experienced a good home learning environment and attended a good quality childcare setting went on to obtain better grades in English and maths, and to earn more than those who received little or no pre-school experience.Additionally, the ongoing Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) shows that the chances of disadvantaged children becoming high achievers by the end of primary school were doubled when they had attended any pre-school, compared to those of disadvantaged children who had not attended pre-school.In recognition of the crucial role that parents and carers play in children’s development, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requires childcare settings to form strong partnerships with parents. The EYFS also requires settings to allocate each child a key worker to help ensure that every child’s learning and care is tailored to meet their individual needs.[1] Early Years Learning and Development Literature Review 2009, and WAVE Trust report ‘Conception to age 2: the age of opportunity’ January 2013.

Ministry of Justice

UK Membership of EU

Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Ministry of Justice has drawn up any contingency plans for the adaptation of UK law in the event of a UK withdrawal from the EU, and if so, whether they will make those plans available to Parliament.

Lord Faulks: The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of the UK’s EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain in order to get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. The Government is confident that the right agreement can be reached.

Prison Sentences: Females

Lord Trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 17 December (HL4250), whether they now have any additional information about the number of women responsible for one or more young children who are currently serving prison sentences in England and Wales.

Lord Faulks: Whilst the specific information requested is not held, the Ministry of Justice recently published statistics on child dependents of female offenders, which can be found at gov.uk on the Statistics at MOJ pages under the topic Ad-hoc justice statistics. A copy of the report is attached here.



Female offenders, dependent child stats
(PDF Document, 116.03 KB)

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Football: Sportsgrounds

Lord Faulkner of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to encourage clubs in the Football League to comply with the Sports Grounds Safety Authority's Accessible Stadia guide.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We would encourage the Football League to make a similar commitment to that made by the Premier League that all clubs in that league willcomply with the measures set out in the Accessible Stadia Guide within an agreed timescale.

Department for Work and Pensions

Pregnant Women: Health

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to provide at least three years' financial assistance, where such subsidy is independent of paid work, for maternal care in the home.

Baroness Altmann: There are currently no plans to provide at least three years' financial assistance, where such subsidy is independent of paid work, for maternal care in the home.

Home Office

Parliament: Security

Lord Evans of Weardale: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what national co-ordinating arrangements are in place to provide reassurance or security assistance to MPs or members of the House of Lords who receive direct or implicit threats as a result of their parliamentary duties.

Lord Bates: As the Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, Leader of the House of Commons, stated during Business of the House of Commons on Thursday 17th December (Hansard Column No 1703), it has been agreed that a standardised approach to security packages will be made available to Members of Parliament and will address the personal security outside Westminster including at constituency offices and their homes and will include consideration of staff safety. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) will shortly be announcing details of how to access the security packages.

HM Treasury

Child Benefit

Lord Lennie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many households that currently claim tax relief on income from residential property finance costs also claim child benefit.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The information requested is not available.

Railways: South West

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had discussions with the Chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission concerning railway links between London and south-west England.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The government has had discussions on a range of topics with the Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission. The commission will examine all forms of economic infrastructure, including rail transport.

Turkey: Refugees

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government over what period, and under what headings, the €3 billion offered by the EU to Turkey in respect of refugees and migrants will be spent; and what verification of expenditure there will be.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: At the EU-Turkey summit on 29 November, the EU committed €3 billion of additional support to Turkey to help ease its refugee burden and prevent further irregular migration to the EU. The European Commission has proposed a Refugee Facility for Turkey to coordinate the €3 billion in 2016 and 2017, which will be financed in part by Member State contributions and in part from the EU budget.The details of the Refugee Facility, including the financing, governance and monitoring arrangements, are currently being discussed by Member States. All contributions from the EU budget will be fully consistent with the spending limits set out in the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020.

Loans: Republic of Ireland

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the amount of government loans to the Republic of Ireland during the past decade; of those loans, what capital has been re-paid; and how much interest has been received.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: I refer the noble Lord to the most recent statutory report which the Treasury provided to Parliament as required by Section 2 of the Loans to Ireland Act 2010. It was published on 15 October 2015 and is available online along with all previous reports submitted.[1]This report shows the outstanding principal is £3,226,960,000, with repayments due in tranches from 15 April 2019 until 26 March 2021. An interest payment was made by the Republic of Ireland on 15 December 2015 and therefore the interest payments received now total £273,825,613.71.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bilateral-loan-to-ireland

Treasury: Ministerial Policy Advisers

Lord Oates: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total annual cost of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s political advisers, including both special advisers and members of the Council of Economic Advisers.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Details of Special Adviser numbers and remuneration across Government departments, including for Special Advisers and Members of the Council of Economic Advisers in HM Treasury, were published in December on the gov.uk website.

National Savings Bonds: Pensioners

Lord Trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will clarify whether they intend to reissue the 65+ Guarantee of Growth Bonds as and when they mature.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: 65+ GGB “Pensioner” Bonds were a special issue aimed at helping pensioners who rely on their savings in retirement. There are currently no plans for a further issue.

Public Finance

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the difference between the public finance forecasts for 2015–16 and the actual financial figures available to date, and what assessment have they made of the reasons for the difference.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) jointly with HM Treasury publish the public sector finances statistical bulletin on a monthly basis, which provides the latest available estimates for key aspects of Public Sector Finances.The latest release was published on 22 December covering the November 2015 public sector finances.[1]Borrowing for the 8 months to November is £6.6 bn less than the same period last year against an Autumn Statement forecast of a £15.7bn full year fall. It’s clear that there is no shortcut to fixing the public finances. That’s why the Chancellor used the Autumn Statement and Spending Review to set out our plan to finish the job and build a resilient economy.The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are responsible for producing the forecasts of the public finances. They have published a detailed commentary on 22 December, which assesses the latest estimates included in the bulletin against their latest forecast[2].[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public-sector-finances-bulletin[2] http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/wordpress/docs/Dec-2015-Commentary-on-the-Public-Sector-Finances-release.pdf

VAT: Tax Evasion

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of their obligation under EU law to prevent VAT evasion.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: In considering fraud against European own resources, including VAT collection, the European Court recently clarified in the Taricco judgment that Member States are obliged under EU law (Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) to have in place effective and dissuasive criminal penalties against VAT fraud. The UK applies a full range of penalties to address various behaviours from dishonesty and deliberate inaccuracies through to criminal prosecutions for VAT offences.

Electronic Commerce: VAT

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the liability of online marketplaces for unpaid VAT where a business trading in that marketplace evades VAT.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Online marketplaces have no liability for unpaid VAT where the operator merely provides a marketplace for businesses to sell goods. However, HM Revenue and Customs is continuing to work with major online marketplaces to tackle this issue.

Electronic Commerce: VAT

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have conducted any test purchases in online markets to provide evidence of the evasion of VAT.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a range of operational activity in place to tackle evasion and to establish evidence of the scale of the problem. HMRC does not routinely carry out test purchases through online platforms.

Cabinet Office

Commission on Freedom of Information

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information to publish its report.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Independent Commission on Freedom of Information will report as soon as possible after the oral evidence sessions it has announced for 20 and 25 January.

Public Inquiries

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which public inquiries they set up between May 1997 and January 2004; and what was the purpose of each.

Lord Bridges of Headley: This information was made available as part of the evidence provided by the Government to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Inquiries Act 2005:http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201314/ldselect/ldinquiries/143/14318.htm



Table of Inquiries under other Acts
(Word Document, 117 KB)

Public Inquiries

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the financial year 2003–04, what was the total cost of each public inquiry conducted; and what was paid to each inquiry chairman, including expenses and VAT.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The information in relation to this time period is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the total cost on completion of those inquiries which span this time period is available as part of the evidence provided by the Government to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Inquiries Act 2005:http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201314/ldselect/ldinquiries/143/14318.htm



Table of Inquiries under other Acts
(Word Document, 117 KB)

Statutory Instruments

Lord Grocott: To ask the Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Leader of the House on 17 December that the convention on statutory instruments "has now broken" (HL Deb, col 2197), on how many occasions since the second World War such a breakage has occurred.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Prior to October 2015, the House of Lords had rejected statutory instruments on four occasions since World War II. None of those occasions concerned a statutory instrument implementing a budget measure intended to deliver £4.4bn of savings that had already been approved by the House of Commons - thereby overruling the elected House on a matter of public spending - nor is it precedented for the House of Lords to decline to consider a statutory instrument until the Government has made specific changes to the policy underpinning it. The House's decision to withhold agreement to the Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 therefore broke new ground, and may be regarded as a breach of the convention underpinning the House's powers in regard to secondary legislation as well as the longer-standing convention regarding the financial primacy of the House of Commons.

Life Peers

Lord Grocott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many life peerages have been created since the 2010 election, and how many of those were (1) Conservative, (2) Liberal Democrat, (3) Labour, and (4) Crossbench, peerages.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Peerages created since the 2010 election are listed below:Conservative: 109Labour: 55Liberal Democrat: 51Crossbench/Independent/other: 30Of the peers appointed since the 2010 election 22.4 per cent have taken the whip of her majesty’s official opposition. This compares to 15.7 per cent of those created between the 1997 and 2010 general elections.